Peat, carbon locking resource, not good fuel as heating, albeit free to some.
if using packet peat, is it necessarily not actually peat but rather the modern-recycled mass with lots of contaminants within?
If real genuine bog peat, has it had a wetting agent or similar added & how does that affect the burn under lab conditions? ..what has been used within the area? it's not food grade & generally peat absorbs all sorts of schmutter which may remain within, doubtless petrol, diesel & oil spillage within the cutting area as part of mechanised recovery means.
(I used to find allsorts within bags of peat especially fag butts).
I gave my brother a wood gasifying campstove whilst he was doing up a croft, no water, or electric, he cut & used peat as part of his heating source, as well as cooking / hot smoking with gorse & heather, though I never asked for results with regards to taste.
it's a dirty cumbersome fuel, on a small scale user basis (imho) but obviously has been used for centuries.
I have access to peat ..but it's laying on fields sprayed with god knows what over the years... bog wood is available as it rises up & is ploughed to the surface, & used to be a regular source of burning wood, but I cannot comment on how it would work for food smoking, i'd be tempted to grab some & give it a go,but am too wary as to what it's absorbed.
In older folks traditional croft houses, the ventilation was dodgey & there was generally a fug of smoke from the cold burning peat, it was always a lot of work for a poor heat return.
if you are going to experiment, i'd dig some from within a grove of trees away from a regular field & therefore crop spraying residue, & not too soaked, (ie the water table) pop it in a conservatory to utilise spring solar heat gain & take it from there.
Needless to say it's used for malting grain, & that's for consumption...
ideally, realistically, speak to a Scottish smokehouse who will have direct experience
http://food.list.co.uk/article/29526-smoking-scottish-seafood-with-peat/ & guide you as to possible ratios dependant on what you intend to experiment with.
source your peat upstream of the local sheep dip tank!